Remarks by the President at Mike Fisher for Governor Luncheon
Hilton Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

12:15 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thanks, Governor. (Applause.) I'm glad you
had me back. I know that your election and Jane's election will be
best for the people of Pennsylvania. And I want to thank you all for
joining in his effort. (Applause.)

I want to thank the sitting Governor, Mark Shweiker. I, too, want
to commend you for your leadership. I appreciate your steady calm and
your deep compassion for your fellow citizens during crisis. A lot of
people got to see what you're made out of. And as Mike said, a lot of
people got to see what the people of Pennsylvania are made out of as a
result of that incident. And I thank you, Mark, very much. You did a
fine job. (Applause.)

I want to thank the two United States Senators from the great state
of Pennsylvania for being here. We've got Arlen Specter. Thank you
for coming, Senator Specter. (Applause.) And Rick Santorum. We
appreciate Rick Santorum. He's got such a good seat only because he's
never on time. But it's good to see you. (Laughter.) But both are
doing a fine job. And I also appreciate Congresswoman Melissa Hart,
from this area, for being here, as well. Melissa, where are you?
Thank you for coming. (Applause.)

I was pleased to meet your mother. I had breakfast with mine
today. She's still telling me what to do. (Laughter.) And I'm still
listening -- about half the time. (Laughter and applause.)

I appreciate so very much Carol Fisher, the future first lady of
the state of Pennsylvania. I want to thank you for standing by your
man and getting ready to campaign with him all across this state.
(Applause.)

There's nothing like marrying well. (Laughter.) I know. I
married really well. And Laura sends her best and her love to a lot of
our friends here in the state of Pennsylvania. I'm really proud of the
job she's doing as the First Lady of the United States. She brings
kind of a calm, steady demeanor to a pressure cooker of a life, and I'm
a better President because I married so well. And the country is
better off to have her as First Lady. (Applause.)

I appreciate very much the next lieutenant governor, Jane Earll.
It's an honor to meet her husband and her family here. And I want to
thank you for your sacrifice, Jane. It shows what kind of governor
Mike's going to be. The fact that he picked Jane shows that he's going
to be a inclusive person, somebody who wants to make sure that he
represents every single person in the state of Pennsylvania. You made
a great pick, Mike, in seeing Jane, and you're going to make a great
team when you become elected to governor and lieutenant governor of
this state. And, Jane, it's great to see you again. Thanks for your
service. (Applause.)

I want to thank -- I think Tim Murphy is here. There he is.
Congressman, good to see you. (Applause.) I appreciate you running,
Tim, and I wish you all the best. I look forward to working with you
next year. I also look -- I want to thank all the leadership of the
Republican Party -- Christine Toretti, who is my friend, who is the
National committeewoman, is here. But -- and so are a lot of the
grass-roots activists.

I know this is what they call a fundraiser, but there's a lot of
people here who are going to do a lot more than fund-raise. They're
going to go out and put the signs up, and organize the rallies, and
make the phone calls, mail the mailers. And I want to thank you for
your efforts, and I want to thank you for the work that you have done,
and as importantly, for the work you're going to do, to make sure that
these two good people get elected. (Applause.)

I like Mike. I like what he's made out of. I like his character.
I like the fact that he worked in the steel mills, and I like the fact
that he knows how to get votes. See, I thought I ran a pretty good
campaign here in the state of Pennsylvania. (Laughter.) I didn't
particularly care about coming in second, but nevertheless, I worked
hard. And he told me the first time I met him, he said, well, you ran
a pretty good campaign, but I beat you, by about -- (laughter) -- by
about 600,000 votes. (Laughter.)

Here's a man who knows how to get votes. (Applause.) He's a man
who knows how to work with both Republicans and Democrats. He's not
afraid of taking his message into neighborhoods that might not be
called what we call Republican neighborhoods. Because, see, his
message is bigger than just a party. He's got a great compassion for
the people of Pennsylvania, starting with -- well, he wants to make
sure every child gets educated. See, he understands the most important
priority for a governor is to promote an education system that is the
best in the country. That's part of the legacy of Tom Ridge, who, by
the way, is doing a fabulous job as the Director of Homeland Security.
(Applause.)

Mark understands that, and you're fixing to elect a governor who
shares the same passion. He believes what I believe, that every child
in Pennsylvania and in America can learn. See, there must be some in
this state and around the country who don't believe that. They've set
such low standards and low expectations that the systems just shuffle
people through. For the sake of Pennsylvania's future, for the sake of
your citizens, you must elect a governor who believes in the highest of
high standards, and who is willing to hold people accountable to make
sure those standards are achieved for every single child in this
state. (Applause.)

Some in this state are willing to accept the status quo, even
though the status quo is failing. What Pennsylvania needs is a
governor who has got high hopes, and high expectations, a governor who
is willing to insist upon accountability, and then a governor who is
willing to do something about it when he encounters failure. We must
not allow the children of Pennsylvania or anywhere else in America be
trapped in schools that will not teach and will not change. I firmly
believe that Mike Fisher is the right man to make sure that no child is
left behind in the state of Pennsylvania. (Applause.)

I also appreciate a man who understands that in order to make sure
the public school system works, you've got to teach the children how to
read. Kind of like me, he's a first things first fellow, a practical
person. And I kind of get tired of all the theorists who talk
education and forget to teach people how to read.

We passed a significant piece of educational reform out of
Washington. It says we're going to trust the governors and local folks
to chart the path to excellence when it comes to education. But it
also says that we're going to insist upon curriculum that works,
particularly when it comes to reading. We've got a Reading First
initiative.

I'm comfortable in saying that this man will implement a good
reading program all across the state of Pennsylvania, to make sure your
children learn to read. And when they do, they'll learn -- they'll
learn science, and they'll learn math, and they'll learn self-esteem.
Reading is the gateway to freedom. Reading is the new civil right.
And you'll have a governor who understands that in the state of
Pennsylvania. (Applause.)

As the Attorney General, Mike has had a record of making sure
schools are safe. It's hard to learn, it's hard to learn to read, it's
hard to learn anything in schools that aren't safe. It's important to
have a governor who's willing to blow the whistle on academic failure,
and a governor who is willing to insist that the classrooms be safe --
safe on behalf of the children and safe on behalf of the parents, and
safe on behalf of the teachers who are trying to impart knowledge.

Mike has got a good record. He's got a good solid record when it
comes to enforcing the law, and he's got a good heart when it comes to
insisting that every child get educated in the state of Pennsylvania.

I also appreciate his attitude about small business and the
entrepreneurial spirit. He knows what I know -- the role of government
is not to create wealth, but an environment in which people can realize
their dreams, in which small businesses can grow to be big businesses,
in which the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in the great state of
Pennsylvania. He knows that I know that most small -- small businesses
create more jobs in America than big business; that if you're
interested in finding employment for the people of Pennsylvania, you've
got to stimulate the growth of small businesses, which means you've got
to have good tax policy. If you over-tax your small businesses in the
state of Pennsylvania, or in the country, for that matter, it's going
to mean there's no capital for expansion, there's no extra money for
job creation.

Pennsylvania must have a governor like Mike, who knows that the
economic environment conducive for the growth of small business is
vital for job creation. Mike's got a record -- I was impressed by the
fact that when he was a state senator he understood that Pennsylvania
workers compensation laws needed to be more fair and less burdensome on
the businesses of the state of Pennsylvania, and by changing the law it
not only helped worker, it helped set a tone for the state of
Pennsylvania so people felt comfortable about employing people in this
state. This man is a job creator, and that's what the state of
Pennsylvania needs as its governor. (Applause.)

As you know, I, too, am worried about jobs here in America. If
anybody wants to work and they can't find a job, we've got a problem,
as far as I'm concerned. If somebody is looking for work and work is
not available, we need to do something about it, by focusing on job
creation. Part of that is to make sure there's confidence in the
private sector.

I was pleased the other day to sign a bill, a corporate
responsibility bill that says, if you're in charge of a business, you
have the responsibility to your shareholders and your employees to tell
the truth, and if you don't, you will be held accountable.
(Applause.) And Mike has done just that as the Attorney General of
this state. He has got a record, a clear record of enforcing laws and
coming down hard on corporate fraud, and saying that we expect the
highest of high standards throughout all our society, that no one is
exempt from the laws of our land.

No, I am confident this man is going to make a fabulous governor
for the state of Pennsylvania. I strongly believe he's going to win,
and I appreciate you supporting him.

I also want to talk about the national challenges we face. I
believe that -- I'm an optimist. I'm an optimist about our economy.
And I should be. The fundamentals are strong, interest rates are low,
monetary policy is sound. I can assure you I will work with Congress
to control excessive federal spending. One reason they give the
President the veto power is to make sure the Congress doesn't
over-spend. Over-spending could serve as an anchor on economic
vitality and growth.

I've mentioned we signed a corporate fraud bill. I also am the
first governor -- President -- in a long period of time to have what
they call trade promotion authority. It means that we're going to open
up markets for U.S. products, markets for the products of Pennsylvania
farmers, markets of the products of Pennsylvania high-tech companies.
A confident nation is a nation willing to trade. And this nation, as a
result of the bill I just got and am signing tomorrow, will be a free
trading nation. (Applause.)

No, I've got confidence in the economic vitality of this country,
because I've got confidence in the American people. I've got
confidence in our workers. Productivity is up. I've got confidence in
our entrepreneurs. People are still imagining new ways to bring new
products. I've got confidence in our tax policy. See, I come from the
school of thought that says, if you let people keep more of their own
money, they will demand a good or a service. And if somebody demands a
good or a service, somebody will produce the good and service. And
when somebody produces the good and service, somebody is going to find
work. We passed tax relief at exactly the right time, and Congress
needs to make the tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)

The foundation for growth is strong in America. And we'll continue
to work to promote ways to foster economic vitality. And one crucial
way is when Congress gets home, gets back from heading out to their
districts and their states, they need to pass a terrorism insurance
bill, so that large construction projects which are now on the books
will move forward, so that our construction workers will have work.
There are too many construction projects that are put on hold for fear
of a -- for lack of terrorism insurance. People can't insure their
projects, and so they're not moving forward. Congress needs to act,
and when they act, they've got to remember the workers are more
important than the trial lawyers in America. (Applause.)

We're making progress on securing the homeland. As I told you, Tom
Ridge is doing a fine job. But I took a look at the agencies involved
with our homeland security, and realized that there's over 100 of them
-- 100 different agencies -- over 100 agencies involved with securing
the homeland. And they're scattered all over our Nation's Capital.
It's awfully hard to hold anybody to account if there's over 100
agencies involved with a single mission.

So I sat down with Tom and others in my administration, and we came
up with a plan. We decided to create a department -- Cabinet-level
department of homeland security, so I can say to the American people
that we have organized ourselves to better protect us from an attack by
one of these killers.

And we're making progress on the creation of an office of homeland
security. We need an office of homeland security to make sure that the
number one priority of our government is reflected in the agencies.
And that is your protection. That's the number one priority right
now. And we've got to have an office of homeland security so that we
can say to these agency heads, you may have other missions, but your
most important mission is to protect the homeland. We've got to have a
culture that becomes a part of this new department that says,
protecting the homeland is your most important job.

The House of Representatives passed a good bill; the Senate will
take it up when they get home. One of the things you'll hear about the
Senate debate is they're all worried about their turf and special
interests and politics. For the sake of the American people, the
Senate needs to pass a homeland security bill that provides me with the
tools necessary to protect the homeland. (Applause.)

You need to know there's a lot of people working a lot of hours to
protect us. A lot of good folks that work in the federal government
and the state government and local governments, doing everything they
can to chase down every possible lead, every hint that somebody might
be fixing to do something to the American people.

And they're out there. The killers are out there. And that's all
they are, by the way. They are nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded
killers, who hate America because we love freedom. They hate us
because we love the values of freedom of religion, freedom to speak,
freedom to campaign the way you want to, freedom to assemble. They
can't stand that.

And so they're going to -- they think they're going to hit us
again. And we're doing a lot to protect the homeland, we really are.
I am grateful for those who spend hours upon hours protecting America.
But the best way to protect the homeland is to hunt the killers down,
one by one, and bring them to justice, which is precisely what this
country is going to do. (Applause.)

I appreciate the House passing a defense appropriations bill. I
appreciate the Senate passing the defense appropriations bill. And I
want to thank the members here for voting for both. Now it's time for
them to get together, reconcile the differences between the two
appropriations bill for our national defense, and get the bill to my
desk in early September. We're at war, and I expect the appropriations
bill on my desk -- the appropriations bill necessary to fund this war
-- on my desk as soon as possible. It ought to be the number one
priority of the appropriators when they get back from their August
recess.

And in that bill you'll see it's the largest increase in defense
spending since Ronald Reagan. And the reason why is, any time we send
our troops into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best
training, the best equipment possible. (Applause.) And the increase
in defense spending sends a message -- it sends a message to our
friends and allies who are part of our vast coalition. It sends a
message to the enemy, we're in this for the long pull. This country
isn't going to quit until we secure our freedom. This country is not
faint-hearted. We're a determined country. We're strong and we're
united. When it comes to defending our freedoms, we understand the
price of freedom is high, but we're willing to pay the price. That's
the message we're sending to the enemy and to our friends.

And that's an important message to send. And we're making good
progress in the war against terror. We've hauled in over a couple of
thousand of them. I say hauled them in -- that means arrest or
incarcerate or however you want to put it. But those -- not only
the United States have done this, but so have our friends and allies.
And just about the like number haven't been quite as lucky. So we're
making good progress.

And this is a different kind of war, though, as you noticed.
Sometimes you'll see the progress on your TV screens, and sometimes you
won't. Sometimes one of these killers will get plucked off the streets
of a foreign nation, and you'll never hear about it. Sometimes it will
make big news. But in either case, we're making progress, one by one.

The old war used to be, they'd see these infantry brigades marching
across some plain, or scurrying through hedgerows. That's not the kind
of war we're in. We're in a kind of war now where they've the
commanders -- the so called commanders of the enemy hiding in a cave,
telling youngsters to go kill themselves. They send young kids to
their suicide, in the name of a great religion, and they themselves
cower, cowards hiding.

But there's no cave deep enough for the United States. There's no
cave dark enough for our troops and our friends and allies. In order
to secure freedom and defend the American people, we're going to hunt
them down. And we owe it to our children to do so. And we also owe it
to our children to enforce these doctrines: if you harbor a terrorist,
if you feed a terrorist, if you close -- clothe a terrorist, you're
just as guilty as those who killed the people of America on 9/11.
(Applause.)

And the doctrine -- and this doctrine still pertains: either
you're with the United States and those of us who love freedom, or
you're with the enemy. You see, the strategy is pretty clear -- we've
disrupted the Taliban. And I want the youngsters here, and those of
you who have got little ones at home to go home and tell your kids that
we went to Afghanistan not as conquerors, but as liberators. We freed
people from the clutches of a barbaric regime. And now, thanks to the
United States and our friends and allies, young girls get to go to
school for the first time -- many of them for the first time in their
life. And our friends understand the message.

So the other day I was pleased to see that Gloria Arroyo, the
President of the Philippines, went ahead and unleashed her troops, and
got after Abu Sabedah, which is an al Qaeda type network, which had
captured some Americans, amongst others. He hears loud and clear,
either you're with us or you're with the enemy. So the coalition is
knitted up and we're active, we're cutting off their money, we're
sharing information -- we're fighting the first war of the 21st
century.

I say, the first war. There's no telling how many wars it will
take to secure freedom in the homeland. But I know this: we will not,
and we must not allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail the United
States and our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons.
(Applause.)

I'm a patient man. I'm a patient man. We've got a lot of tools at
our disposal -- diplomatic tools, intelligence tools, military tools.
We've got a lot of tools. We've got a lot of friends, as well. And
I'm going to take our time to make sure we get the policy right, no
matter what part of the world we're in. But I understand that freedom
has called us into action -- I mean, history has called us into action
to defend freedom. I understand where we stand now in history. We
have an obligation to the future. And this great country will not
shirk its obligation.

Out of the evil done to America can come some incredible good, and
part of that good is peace. Oh, I know the rhetoric can be tough. I
understand all that. But you just need to know that I believe we can
achieve peace, and that's my dream. I want there to be peace here in
America. I want us to be able to live the life we love, and embrace
the freedoms that we cherish, and not worry about some killer coming to
take out their problems on us because we love freedom.

And I believe we can achieve peace by being strong and determined
in parts of the world where peace seems to be far away. I believe we
can achieve peace in the Middle East. I believe we can achieve peace
in South Asia. I believe this great nation, by being strong and
determined and standing on principles and adhering to our universal
values, can help the world achieve peace.

And at home, I know that out of the evil done to America can come
some great good. Listen, I understand, and you know, that in the midst
of our plenty there are pockets of despair, there are pockets of
addiction. There are children who say, what is the American Dream --
it's not meant for me. What is this American Dream business? I don't
belong to that dream.

You see, what we must understand is that we've got individuals, too
many individuals whose vision of the country is dim by the
circumstances. But I believe, and I know, we can save those children,
one heart -- or those people, one heart and one soul, one conscience at
a time.

Government can hand out money, but it cannot put hope in people's
hearts, or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That's why I'm such a
believer in faith-based programs, charitable programs, all of which
exist because somebody has heard the universal call to love a neighbor
just like you'd like to be loved yourself.

I landed at the Pittsburgh Airport today and I met six college kids
from a program called Jumpstart. One went to Penn State who has
already graduated; five are now undergraduates at the University of
Pittsburgh. These are children who mentor 5-year-old kids, so that
when they get to elementary school they've got a chance to learn to
read. These are children who understand that you can save America one
person at a time. They understand one person can't do everything, but
one person can do something to be a good citizen. So here they are,
college kids. And they've got a lot of other things to do, but part of
their life as a college student is to love a child, is to make a
difference in a child's life.

People say, what can I do to help? What you can do is love a
neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. What you can do is to
be a full citizen of the country by helping to serve others. And
that's happening all across this country. You just need to know that.
Out of the evil done to America can come some incredible good. Our
society is becoming a more compassionate society, because there's a lot
of people who have taken a step back and said, what is my life worth?
What is it all about?

One of the reasons I entered politics in the first place in the
state of Texas is because I was concerned about a culture which had
clearly said, if it feels good, do it; and if you've got a problem,
blame somebody else. My hope was to be a part of a cultural shift
which says that we must usher in a era of personal responsibility if we
want our country to realize its full potential. I believe it's
happening.

I believe the notion of serving something greater than yourself,
which is at the core of being a personally responsible citizen, has
taken hold in America. Probably best defined not far from here, where
Flight 93 hit the ground. Citizens aboard an aircraft who heard their
plane was going to be used as a weapon. They told their loved ones
they loved them. They said a prayer; one guy said, "Let's roll," and
they served something greater than themselves in life.

No, out of the evil done to America is going to come some
incredible good. Because this is a nation that is so good and decent
and compassionate.

I want to thank you all for coming to help Mike. May God bless you
all, and may God bless America. (Applause.)